With a name like ‘widowbird,’ you’d expect this dusky male to have a low-key love life. But those 20-inch-long tail feathers are highly favored by females, even though they can make it difficult for the males to fly on windy days. The display has been the subject of much study regarding sexually selected traits and the tradeoffs between physical constraint and attracting a mate, since the tail feathers don’t seem to aid in flight and may even cause a hinderance. Ah, the things we do for love.
Longtailed widowbird at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Ancient groves in Australia
-
Looking for peace on the precipice
-
Monarch butterflies migrate south
-
Sunlight sets Iceland s Eyjafjallajökull aglow
-
Happy Boxing Day!
-
J.R.R. Tolkien Day
-
Celebrating freedom
-
Pont Rouge
-
World Childrens Day
-
Panda Day
-
Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
-
Silver-studded blue butterflies
-
It’s Art Deco Weekend in Miami
-
An iris garden in Tokyo, Japan
-
Everglades National Park turns 75
-
Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Canada
-
Black bear cub emerging into spring
-
Mediterranean red sea stars
-
National Moth Week
-
Welcome to Scotland s garden
-
American goldfinch
-
Burns Night
-
Atlantic puffin, Iceland
-
In celebration of America’s national bird
-
Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
-
Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
-
A river runs through it
-
National Hispanic Heritage Month
-
Morocco in bloom
-
AAPI Heritage Month & Lei Day